Huawei, Xiaomi make foray into PC market
- By Wu Jin
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail China.org.cn, August 3, 2016
 |
|
Image taken on Oct. 28, 2015 shows people walking by the stand of the Chinese company Huawei during the "Futurecom 2015", in Sao Paulo, Brazil. [Photo/Xinhua] |
The stagnant personal computer (PC) market has not discouraged Huawei and Xiaomi, two major IT firms in China, from attempting to give a boost to the industry.
At the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain, in February, Huawei rolled out its newest PC series named Matebook, which will be priced between 4,988 (US$752) and 9,688 yuan, while last week, Xiaomi unveiled its first two laptops in the Air Series, to be sold for 3,499 and 4,999 yuan.
Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi, admitted at the launching ceremony that the PC market represents one of the most competitive and mature industries. But the reason for Xiaomi's foray into the PC market is a desire to meet unsatisfied demands and improve technologies. The company focuses on developing thin and light high-performance laptops.
Will Xiaomi and Huawei be able to reshape the PC industry as much as they changed the smart phone market?
According to Gartner, a world renowned technology firm, shipments of PCs in the second quarter this year were down by 5.2 percent year on year, registering a decline for the seventh season in a row.
Bai Fan, general manager of the ITO business division of GFK, a multinational market consulting company, said that the PC market in China is even worse than in the rest of the world.
"The major PC suppliers in China have suffered a decline, a domestic situation different from those of the overseas markets," said Bai.
Around 2010, China launched a subsidy programs to boost the sales of electronic home appliances in the countryside. But the program overdrew the sales of the electronic devices in the following years.
"It is usually believed that a PC can be used for four to five years. However, the reality is that it may work even longer," Bai said.
The analyst added that even if Huawei and Xiaomi make achievements in the PC industry, the landscape of the sector has little room for change, indicating that the two domestic tech firms cannot constitute a major force in the PC market in the short term.
But the PC can be marketed for more specific demands in the market by installing apps for online education or by providing high-performance computers designated for online video games, Bai said.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)